Teramoceroides spathulifer Mantilleri, 2017

Mantilleri, Antoine, Bartolozzi, Luca & Sforzi, Alessandra, 2017, Brentidae of Peru (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea), Zootaxa 4221 (1) : -

Teramoceroides spathulifer Mantilleri , sp. nov.

( Figs. 19–24 )

Type material. Holotype: ♂, Peru, MD, Tambopata Pres , Explorer's Inn, 200 m, 12°51'S 69°18'W, 11.XII.1996, coll. Miller Exped.; prép. micro. n°AM-AMNH 0 0 0 0 2 ( AMNH).

Description of male. Length from apex of labrum to apex of elytra: 25.7 mm; length from apex of pronotum to apex of elytra: 15.0 mm; width across humeral calli: 2.0 mm. Habitus: Fig. 19 .

Dark brown to blackish, elytra without metallic sheen.

Prorostrum 0.35× as long as mesorostrum and metarostrum together, weakly enlarged at apex, not grooved but slightly carinate on sides at base, not punctate, notched at apex. Mesorostrum hardly grooved. Metarostrum carinate on sides, square in section, with weakly elevated median carina. Eyes large, bulging, 0.82× as long as temples. Head smooth, not grooved, slightly tapering backward; interocular fovea quite distinct; collar constriction weakly marked. Sides of head with sensorial pores; sides of metarostrum with few sensorial pores at base. Venter of head with well-distinct gular suture ending in post-ocular median fovea; no groove or carina, several sensorial pores not ordered; venter of metarostrum with numerous small sensorial pores with long hairs, the pores extending well after the first half of prorostrum; venter of prorostrum without median carina. Antennae with articles 3–8 longer than broad, slightly enlarged at apex, article 4 the longest; article 9 1.2× longer than article 8; article 11 longer, curved.

Pronotum 2.95× longer than broad, grooved, without punctuations, microreticulate. Scutellum foveate, not inserted between elytra at base. Elytra without deep pit at base. Stria 1 well-distinct from base to apex, 2 not reaching base; striae 3–8 indicated by lines of well-distinct punctuations. Apex of elytra ( Figs. 20–21 ) with large rounded appendages formed by interstriae 3 and 9. Prothorax glabrous, sutural line well-marked at base. Prosternellum well-distinct. Mesothorax, mesanepisternum and mesepimeron with few large punctuations; sutural lines barely distinct. Metasternum smooth, not punctate, foveate in front of metacoxae. Metanepisternum with shallow line of punctuations. Legs with glabrous coxae; trochanters bearing one raised seta; femora glabrous, pedunculate, not impressed on sides. Protibiae with few short hairs. First tarsomere dorso–ventrally flattened, not carinate, longer than broad, longer than tarsomeres 2–3 together; tarsomeres 2–3 slightly depressed on upper side; tarsomere 2 slightly longer than broad; protarsi shorter than metatarsi.

Abdomen ( Fig. 22 ) convex, not grooved, almost glabrous, without punctuations behind metacoxae. Sternite III with barely distinct, very reduced paramedian projections at apex; sternites V–VII almost completely smooth and glabrous. Membranous tergites dark. Tegmen ( Fig. 24 ) with parameroid lobes quite reduced, almost glabrous; tegminal apodeme slightly enlarged. Penis ( Fig. 23 ) with apex almost rounded; temones longer than distal part; internal sac with proximal sclerite forming two paramedian rods connected by a median sclerite ( Fig. 23 ); wall of the internal sac with numerous very small sclerotized spicules; frena completely missing.

Etymology. The specific epithet " spathulifer " is given to this new taxon because of the large and flattened elytral appendages of the male.

Remarks. This species belongs to the recently defined genus Teramoceroides ( Mantilleri, 2015b) as it presents the synapomorphies of the group: apical tooth of elytra with stiff setae below ( Fig. 21 ), and sternite III of male with two paramedian projections ( Fig. 22 ). In the case of T. spathulifer sp. nov., these two paramedian projections are extremely reduced. In the key given in Mantilleri (2015b), the new species keys out with T. gracilis (Boheman, 1833) from South-eastern Brazil, because of reduced paramedian projections and lack of metallic sheen on elytra; both species also share dark membranous tergites of abdomen and first metatarsal segment dorso-ventrally flattened, without carina. They may be differentiated by the shape of the apical tooth of elytra (pointed in T. gracilis , rounded in T. spathulifer sp. nov.) and the general structure of the proximal sclerite of the endophallus (two paramedian rods linked in the middle by a pointed sclerite in T. spathulifer sp. nov., without such rods in T. gracilis ). This endophallic sclerite is very similar to that of T. belti (Sharp, 1895) from Central America.

Figures

FIGURES 19 – 24. Teramoceroides spathulifer Mantilleri, sp. nov., ♂ holotype. 19, Habitus; 20, apex of left elytron, dorsal view; 21, apex of left elytron, lateral view; 22, abdomen; 23, penis; 24, tegmen.